Summer has long gone i am aware but i never got the time to talk about my Mumbai Cycle Ride experience.The last of our South Mumbai Cycle rides was on June 15th. I am a complete cycle enthusiast and even today if I have to go anywhere close to my place I prefer to ride on my cycle. I wish I could ride to work as well. I am in a way thankful to Jayesh from Odati Adventures who has given this lovely opportunity to be a part of his team and conduct the South Mumbai cycle rides. Over the last few cycle trips that I have done along with Jayesh, I have realized there are so many people who love to cycle but for lack of proper information on where and how one can go cycling had stopped cycling. Mumbai is such a lovely city and especially South Mumbai offers a lot for cyclists. Odati Adventures was introduced to this lovely activity by a friend Ashwini Kapila who is an avid cyclist. Odati now conducts this activity to connect largely with other like minded cyclists who along with Odati are interested in the history of this amazing city Mumbai and learn more about it’s architecture and heritage monuments.
While we do not claim to know a lot about Mumbai and its heritage saga but we try to impart as much information as we can based on what we have gathered largely by reading books and by visiting these heritage monuments ourselves. It is sad to note that many of the Mumbaiites who are born here are themselves not aware of our city’s history.
Our trips ore only on Sundays when South Mumbai is free of all the maddness that it witnesses on weekdays. MY last trip was in the end of March.We started in the morning at 7 am at Eros Theatre. This time around my 14 year old nephew Karan was along with me. He loves cycling as much as he loves cars.
We begin the session with a short talk on the history of Mumbai. It would be surprising to note that many Mumbaiites themselves are not aware of the many places in South Mumbai forget the interiors of Mumbai. Mumbai is regarded as the city of dreams since the time it opened its shores to welcome native and foreign traders.
The seven islands of Mumbai were gifted to Britain by Portugal when Charles II married Catherine, the Portuguese princess in 1661. The Portuguese rulers had built forts in these islands for trading. Remnants of these forts can be seen even today at Sion, Mahim, Bandra (Castella De Aguada) and Versova.
Our ride starts from Eros Theatre and we pedal along the many of the magnificent Gothic buildings which one can see in this area and come around the Oval Maidan cross the Old Scretariat building and halt at the magnificient clock tower ‘Rajabai Tower’ or the Bombay University. Right next to the High Court, Rajabai Tower is a beautiful structure, ornamented with oriental figures. Its history reveals that it was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott, who was an English architect. Rajabai Tower was built on the lines of Big Ben, the clock tower in London. Elevated to the height of 85 m (280 ft), the tower took around 9 years to get constructed (1869 -1878). Premchand Roychand, a successful broker who founded the Bombay Stock Exchange, financed the entire cost of construction that was Rs 200,000. The clock tower owes its name to Rajabai - mother of the generous broker who was blind and a staunch follower of Jainism. Thanks to the bell of this tower, she didn't require anyone's help to know the time and she could herself take her dinner before evening, on the word of her religion.
From here we ride along the main road pass the Central Telegraph office which is next to Churchgate station.
Did you know the distance between two places is measured between their head Post Offices? Did you know that the real Church Gate stood close to where Flora Fountain stands today? We learnt about such trivia and exchange stories and notes about Mumbai’s heritage and rich culture while we pedaled along the streets of South Mumbai.
Our next halt is Flora Fountain. Inspired from Flora - the Roman Goddess of Flowers, Flora Fountain is a stone fountain located at the centre of the Fort business district, the splendid fountain was built in 1864. In 1960, the square where the fountain stands, was formally christened as ‘Hutatma Chowk’ or Martyr's Square. From here we pedal along towards Kala Ghoda. We halt at the centre of Kala Ghoda opposite the Jehangir Art Gallery. Kala Ghoda is the name given to the crescent that stretches from the Regal circle to the south and the University to the north. It is a hub of cultural activity, containing the National Gallery of Modern Art, the Prince of Wales Museum, the Bombay Natural History Society, the David Sassoon Library and the famous Watson Hotel. Our cycle trip then carries along to the Town Hall, Horniman Circle, Ballard Pier, CST Station, Metro, Marine Drive, NCPA, and finally end at Colaba at Gateway of India. We then head straight to Mondi’s or Mondegar Café for lunch. It was indeed a wonderful cycle ride I have had.
So if you want to see and hear all of the above and many more stories including the one of the Hornby’s Vellard and others about Bombay’s past, wait for Odati Adventures to come back with their announcement of Mumbai Cycle Ride once the winter sets in.
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